Abstract
The simplistic notion of ‘the Danish peasant’ in the eighteenth century is gradually disappearing. A number of studies of archival material stemming from private estates and from various levels of the public administration have demonstrated pronounced differences between the provinces. The peasants lived under unenviable social and economic conditions, but despite the staunsbånd (adscription) and other restrictions on liberty, it would seem that at any rate some of them displayed considerably more pride and fighting spirit than had previously been supposed.